Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005, returning as a judge beginning with the twenty-third season in 2025. Underwood's first single, "Inside Your Heaven" (2005), made her the first-ever country artist to debut atop the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist to top the Hot 100 in the 2000s. Bolstered by further crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", Underwood's debut studio album, ''Some Hearts'' (2005), became the best-selling debut album of all time by a solo female country artist, was ranked by ''Billboard'' as the top country album of the 2000s, and won her three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist. She followed it with ''Carnival Ride'' (2007), which sold over half a million copies first-week and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, ''Play On'' (2009), made her the only woman in history to have eleven consecutive top-two singles and the first since the 1980s to accumulate ten number-ones at US country radio.

Underwood achieved the number-two best-selling female release of 2012 and won a Grammy Award with her fourth album, ''Blown Away'' (2012). Her compilation album, ''Greatest Hits: Decade #1'' (2014), broke multiple chart and sales records and spawned the Grammy-winning crossover single "Something in the Water". Her fifth studio album, ''Storyteller'' (2015), made her the only country artist in history to have all of their first five studio albums reach either number one or two on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. With her sixth album, ''Cry Pretty'' (2018), she became the only woman in history to top the ''Billboard'' 200 with four country studio albums and had the largest female album debut of 2018. In the 2020s, she has released her first Christmas album, ''My Gift'' (2020), won the Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album with her first gospel album, ''My Savior'' (2021), and reinforced her country pop image with ''Denim & Rhinestones'' (2022).

One of the best-selling music artists in history, Underwood has sold over 85 million records worldwide. She is the highest-certified female country artist in digital single sales, and the female artist with the most number-one singles (16) on the US Country Airplay chart. ''Billboard'' ranked her as the top female country artist of the 2000s and 2010s, while ''Pollstar'' ranked her among the 15 highest-grossing female touring artists of the past four decades. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, the most ''Billboard'' Music Awards (12) and American Music Awards (17) among female country artists, seven Guinness World Records, as well as inductions into the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry. ''Rolling Stone '' hailed her as "the female vocalist of her generation in any genre", ''Time'' listed her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014 and ''Forbes'' declared her the most successful ''American Idol'' winner.

Outside of music, Underwood has ventured into fashion and writing. She released her fitness clothing line Calia by Carrie in 2015 and ''The New York Times'' best-selling lifestyle book ''Find Your Path'' in 2020. Provided by Wikipedia